JANAPADAS
The rajas who performed these big sacrifices were now recognized as being rajas of janapadas rather than Janas. The word janapada literally means the land where the Jana set its foot and settled down. Some important janapadas are shown on Map.
Archaeologists have excavated a number of settlements in these janapadas, such as Purana Qila in Delhi, Hastinapura near Meerut, and Atranjikhera, near Etah (the last two are in Uttar Pradesh). They found that people lived in huts, and kept cattle as well as other animals. They also grew a variety of crops — rice, wheat, barley, pulses, sugarcane, sesame, and mustard.
They made earthen pots. Some of these were grey in colour, others were red. One special type of pottery found at these sites is known as Painted Grey Ware. As is obvious from the name, these grey pots had painted designs, usually simple lines and geometric patterns.
Plates and bowls are the most common vessels made out of Painted Grey Ware. These are extremely fine to touch, with a nice, smooth surface. Perhaps these were used on special occasions, for important people, and to serve special food.
Activity:
Was there any janapadas in your state? If yes, name them. If not, name the janapadas that would have been the closest to your state, and mention whether they were to the east, west, north or south.
Source: This topic is taken from the NCERT TEXTBOOK
MAHAJANAPADAS
About 2500 years ago, some janapadas became more important than others and were known as mahajanapadas. Some of these are shown on Map. Most mahajanapadas had a capital city, many of these were fortified. This means that huge walls of wood, brick, or stone were built around them.
Forts were probably built because people were afraid of attacks from other kings and needed protection. It is also likely that some rulers wanted to show how rich and powerful they were by building really large, tall, and impressive walls around their cities. Also in this way, the land and the people living inside the fortified area could be controlled more easily by the king. Building such huge walls required a great deal of planning. Thousands, if not lakhs of bricks or stones had to be prepared. This in turn meant enormous labour, provided, possibly, by thousands of men, women, and children. And resources had to be found for all of this.
The new rajas now began maintaining armies. Soldiers were paid regular salaries and maintained by the king throughout the year. Some payments were probably made using punch-marked coins. You will read more about these coins in Chapter 8(VITAL VILLAGES, THRIVING TOWN).
Activity:
List two ways in which the rajas of the mahajanapadas were different from those mentioned in the Rigveda.
Source: This topic is taken from the NCERT TEXTBOOK
TAXES
As the rulers of the mahajanapadas were (a)building huge forts (b) maintaining big armies, they needed more resources. And they needed officials to collect these. So, instead of depending on occasional gifts brought by people, as in the case of the raja of the janapadas, they started collecting regular taxes.
* Taxes on crops were the most important. This was because most people were farmers. Usually, the tax was fixed at 1/6th of what was produced. This was known as bhaga or a share.
* There were taxes on craftspersons as well. These could have been in the form of labour. For example, a weaver or a smith may have had to work for a day every month for the king.
* Herders were also expected to pay taxes in the form of animals and animal products.
* There were also taxes on goods that were bought and sold, through trade.
* And hunters and gatherers also had to provide forest produce to the raja.
Elsewhere
Around 2500 years ago, the people of Athens set up a form of government, which was called a democracy, which lasted for about 200 years.
All free men over the age of 30 were recognized as full citizens.
There was an assembly that met at least 40 times a year to decide on important matters.
All citizens could attend these meetings.
Appointments for many positions were made through the lottery. All those who wanted to be chosen gave in their names, and then some were selected through the lottery.
Citizens were expected to serve in the army and the navy.
However, women were not considered citizens.
Also, many foreigners, who lived and worked in Athens as merchants and craftspersons did not have rights as citizens.
Besides, there were several thousand slaves in Athens, who worked in mines, fields, households, and workshops. They too were not treated as citizens.
Do you think this was a true democracy?
Activity:
1. Find Greece and Athens in your atlas.
2. What do you think would have been provided by hunters and gatherers?
Source: This topic is taken from the NCERT TEXTBOOK
CHANGE IN AGRICULTURE
There were two major changes in agriculture around this time. One was the growing use of iron ploughshare. This meant that heavy, clayey soil could be turned over better than with a wooden ploughshare so that more grain could be produced. Second, people began transplanting paddy. This meant that instead of scattering seed on the ground, from which plants would sprout, saplings were grown and then planted in the fields. This led to increased production, as many more plants survived. However, it was back-breaking work. Generally, slave men and women, (dasas and dasis) and landless agricultural labourers (kammakaras) had to do this work.
Can you think why kings would encourage these changes?
Source: This topic is taken from the NCERT TEXTBOOK